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Brigadoon: Marin and Melan

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Taking place in 1969Japan, Brigadoon tells the story of Marin Asagi: an ambitious, innocent, orphaned 13-year-old girl. Not the most ordinary school girl, but she has an adoptive family of colorful characters who care deeply about her and a school friend named Moe Kisaragi. Everything changes one day when an unknown alien world appears in the sky sending out killer robots (called Monomakia) that target her. Luckily, she finds an alien creature named Melan who seems to be protecting her from the assassins. The series focuses on uncovering the mysteries of the alien world, as well as detailing the growing relationship between Marin and her protector.

Cute art, comedic moments, and satiric characters notwithstanding; this series takes itself very seriously. Almost immediately, the action is tense and bloody and humans die.

Played a bit more straight in Episode 4 during a short sports-related flashback about how Marin and Moe became friends.

Alien Sky: Brigadoon is visible in Earth's sky for the entire series, and vice versa. On Submaton Color you can see both worlds at the same time.

All of the Other Reindeer: Marin is unfairly discriminated against for being an unwealthy orphan. It gets worse when the Monomakia come along. She's even arrested by the police and later almost murdered. Never mind that she's only thirteen, has no idea why alien monsters are after her, or how many times she tries to save the people around her.

Apocalypse How: Class X, planetary annihilation for both Earth and Brigadoon. The two planets will literally tear each other apart in a phenomenon called Mutual Collapse.

Apologises a Lot: Along with being chivalrous and considerate of Marin's feelings, Melan tends to apologize to her often whenever he makes a mistake. Whether it be causing harm to fellow humans, making Marin sad, or identifying something with complicated words. He also becomes an Apologetic Attacker, starting in Episode 12 when he kills enemy Monomakia Ping-Pong. In later episodes he apologizes to Erin for breaking one of her wings, and to Kuston for stabbing him in a vital spot.

Moe is prone to frequent apologies as well, usually just because she's very unsure of herself. For instance, she apologizes for coming unnanounced to Marin's house so they can walk to school together. She apologizes again when Marin comments on how far apart their houses are.

In the English dub, Pyon's voice is noticeable deeper than Melan's, while in the Japanese they're about the same.

Bait-and-Switch Credits: The OP and ED sequences are all guilty of this, mostly by making it look like certain supporting characters will play larger roles in the show than they actually do. Especially in the cases of Moe, Poikun and Kushatohn

Band of Brothers: The Gun-Swordsmen are supposed to be this. If only they'd stop bickering so much.

Bandage Mummy: Lolo ends up like this after a bomb explodes in his apartment.

Berserk Button: Marin tends to turn the other cheek when she's picked on, but certain things provoke her to violence. Seeing Moe get hurt is one, her home and/or family being insulted is another, and so is her status as an orphan.

In Episode 18, the usually unflappable Melan goes mad with rage when Marin is stabbed in the back by a Monomakia she had just stopped him from killing.

Better as Friends: Marin and Melan in the two volume manga, their relationship is not developed enough to be considered truly romantic, though there are definitely some strong hints from both sides.

Lulu frequently talks about or mentions food when he isn't actually eating it.

Mike is implied to be one, too, if his overreaction to Melan eating all the rice in Episode 3 is any indication.

Big Fancy House: Moe's family has one in Tokyo and in Kobe, just to show the audience how incredibly rich she is.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When first introduced, the more cruel of the two detectives acts like a kindly old man who is constantly smiling and bears a striking resemblance to Buddha.

Bittersweet Ending: Both Earth and Brigadoon are saved and everyone is resurrected, but the portal to Brigadoon will soon vanish and won't return for another 100 years, hence Melan has to go. Get your tissues.

Bizarre Alien Biology: Perhaps the weirdest parts of Melan's anatomy are his "magic hands," two pairs of oval-shaped objects located on either side of his upper torso that stretch out on skinny wires. One pair he uses for grabbing and holding things, and the other pair seems to aid his healing factor. He also uses them to carry Marin with him when he flies.

And for Lolo's species there's Lili, who has an extra face on the back of her head.

Blind Without 'Em: Averted. Marin needs glasses because she is far-sighted, but it's not so bad that she can't see anything when they are broken or lost. Exaggerated when she actually DOES go blind and can only see with the aid of a particular Monomakia serving as her glasses.

Bloodless Carnage: Violence against humans is significantly less messy than violence against Monomakia. Case in point; Pyon slaughters a a good number of police officers but we don't see a single drop of their blood. When he fights Melan later, there's purple blood flying everywhere.

Break the Cutie: Just when you think things can't possibly get any worse for poor Marin, they do.

Breather Episode: Episode 15 has Marin and Melan relaxing in Submaton Color, a bizarre Sugar Bowl type world, shortly after almost getting killed on Brigadoon in Episode 13. Turns into a Wham Episode at the last minute.

Episode 23 acts as a similar calm before the storm.

Bring My Brown Pants: Marin exclaims she has to go to the bathroom during two stressful yet totally separate situations.

Calling The Old Lady Out: In Episode 11, Moe has a rare moment of assertiveness and stands up to her mother for saying bad things about Marin and her family. Sadly, the results didn't quite work out in her favor.

Cardboard Prison: It's remarkably easy for Midori to get Marin out of jail. Somewhat justified in that she's been locked up before.

Cast of Snowflakes: There's great visual diversity in the human and Monomakia characters. This doesn't seem to apply to Lolo's race, though.

A similar occurence happens in the manga. Marin and Aloma end up alone together in her room, and just when things start to heat up, the house gets attacked by Monomakia.

Caught the Heart on His Sleeve: In episode 25,when Melan is about to cut his and Marin's reunion short, telling her to rest and heal after he stabbed and shot her due to brainwashing by the Hensu-Chi, she grabs him by the arm, telling him she won't let him leave her behind again and that wherever he goes, she'll follow.

Cherry Blossoms: They show up in a flashback sequence of the early stages of Marin and Moe's friendship. Much later Richard Nixon sees them in a flashback of Washington DC, and they appear again during the epilogue of the last episode.

Children Are Innocent: Averted, mostly. For every Moe in the series there are about 10 violent, depressed, or perverted kids.

Much of the human cast has color names, too. For example, the kanji of Marin's surname "Asagi" translates to "light blue" in English. The same rule applies to her adoptive family and most of her classmates.

Interestingly, Chroma is the only member of Lolo's species whose name follows this theme.

The Comically Serious: Melan. He's so serious that he doesn't even start smiling until the series is almost over.

Compressed Adaptation: The manga tries to cram 26 episodes of content into just two books. Several story arcs and characters are sacrificed as a result.

Conspicuous CG: In general there's not much CG in the show, but it's pretty obvious when it appears, usually in the form of ripple effects.

Conflict Ball: Moe's piggy bank ends up being one of these. She tries to give Marin her money so she won't get sent to an orphange, but Marin thinks she's trying to 'buy' her friendship and rejects it.

Contrived Coincidence: This series is full of utterly convenient coincidences, but the most notable one is when Marin goes blind due to a head injury, and almost immediately afterwards she awakens Cosmos, a Monomakia that allows her to see again.

Marin's similarity to the real Creis seems like this, even to the characters, until it's revealed last-minute that she's actually the Creis's ancestor.

Cool Old Guy: Gen Asagi, Marin's deceased adoptive father, is said to have been like this and acts like it in flashbacks.

Cool Old Lady: Moto Asagi, Marin's adoptive grandmother. She's cool enough to accept Melan as a member of her household just for saving Marin's life, and will even risk her own life when Marin's in trouble. All of this makes her sudden death all the more tragic.

Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: When Melan and Marin defeat Erin and she pulls out a giant bomb to kill them all, who of all people should come to their rescue but Mike!

Cultural Translation: The Japanese version is full of puns that don't translate into English, and are changed for the dub.

Curb-Stomp Battle: Any time the police or the army try to fight Monomakia, they tend to end up dead. This is especially true for Gun-Swordsmen.

A more specific example is Melan's battles with Pyon in Episodes 6 and 7. He's almost killed both times, and it's pure chance that he makes it out alive.

Cynicism vs Idealism: A bit of an anomaly. Almost every instance where a character (including Marin) is being idealistic they get a BFG sized beam of reality shot right into their face. However, despite things not going the way she wants over and over again, Marin (the very idealistic character she is) doesn't give up. Her drive to never give up and make everything right wins in the end, and the world is saved because of it. Thus, it fits best in the category of Earn Your Happy Ending. Still, the sheer volume of instances where cynicism triumphs over idealism definitely tips the scale on the former's side.

Death World: Judging from the flashbacks of the Gun-Swordsmen, the area of Brigadoon they trained in was like this.

Driven to Suicide: During one of the lowest points in Marin's depression, she stumbles into a river and almost lets herself drown. Moe also tries to drown herself in the ocean when she becomes a giant. Both cases become an Interrupted Suicide.

Dropped Glasses: Marin gets her glasses knocked off and stepped on by a bully early in Episode 3, and she has to go without them until they're fixed in Episode 4.

Doomed Hometown: Tokyo takes major damage from the Mutual Collapse and Marin's house gets burned down.

Dub Name Change: Erin's name is "Eryun" in the original Japanese anime. Strangely enough, it's spelled that way in the English version of the manga, and both translations were done by Tokyopop.

The English version of the manga altered the names of several other characters. Hanazono=Hannah, Jun=June, Tadashi=Sei, Creis Marine=Crace Maureen.

Duel to the Death: Being the chivalrous guy he is, Pyon challenges Melan to this at least twice. Melan beats him in their first duel, but Pyon gets dragged back to Brigadoon before he can be killed. Later on Pyon intercepts Melan as he brings Marin to Brigadoon and they start fighting again, but things get complicated when Erin shows up.

Erin does the same thing later, though she's not so chivalrous about it.

Dynamic Entry: All the Gun-Swordsmen leave very strong first impressions by showing up out of seemingly nowhere and destroying something in a highly spectacular fashion.

In Episode 1, the first thing Melan does when he is released from his ampoule is blast Dollon into a river with his laser gun. This is before he even notices Marin is there, too.

When Pyon first appears on Earth, a fighter jet shoots missiles at him. He simply destroys said missiles with his gun and then slices the plane in half with his sword. Later in the same episode, he breaks into a police station by throwing a car at the entrance and blowing it up, and then slaughtering all the cops who try to stop him.

Not to be outdone, Erin introduces herself by ambushing Marin from the shadows and blasting Melan within an inch of his life. Her first day on Earth has her killing several human soldiers without even touching them.

Earth All Along: Judging from the exposition from the last few episodes Brigadoon is actually Earth in the distant future.

Emergency Impersonation: Marin successfully pulls this plan off in Episode 25 when she uses Cosmos to disguise herself as Creis Marine, effectively serving as a Body Double to lure the brainwashed Gun-Swordsmen away from the latter so she can safely fulfill her duties.

Everyone Can See It: Several supporting characters notice the budding romance between Marin and Melan long before either of them openly admits it. In the manga, Melan seems to fall for her sooner than he does in the anime. In both versions, Marin also falls for him, and he seems oblivious to it until much later in the story.

Feud Episode: In episode 11, Marin and Moe's friendship suffers when Marin misunderstands Moe's offer to give her money to stay at the tenement house as an attempt to buy her friendship. They don't see each other for another ten episodes due to Marin's journey to Brigadoon and back. Their reunion occurs due to a BIG problem with Moe. This tearful reunion almost concludes with Marin and Melan being forced to end Moe's life until Erin appears with the antidote. Cutting it close aren't we?

Foreign Cuss Word: Most of the English-speaking characters exclaim "Jesus," and/or "Oh my god" at some time or another. Oddly, the latter is usually shortened to "Oh my g-!" when it is said, although there is no one interrupting. Go Figure.

Foreign Language Title: The official logo spells 'Brigadoon' in English. 'Marin and Melan' is written in Japanese, with a bilingual English/Greek subtitle.

Foreshadowing: In Episode 9, Marin initially expressed no interest in wanting a boyfriend and uncertainty about leaving home for someone she loved. How ironic that she eventually falls for Melan hard enough to consider staying with him forever.

Four Is Death: Kuston Brown, a fourth Gun-Swordsman, is intended to take Melan's place for the Day of Pasca. Instead he ends up serving the Big Bad by brutally attacking his own comrades, kidnapping Creis, and almost killing Marin.

Freudian Trio: The three Gun-Swordsmen fit this trope quite well. Erin is the rage-driven and ultraviolent Id, Pyon is the disciplined and honor-bound Superego, and Melan becomes the rational and compassionate Ego.

Friend Versus Lover: Averted with Moe, though the lover in question is not dubbed as such until much later in the series. She mentions being envious of Melan's ability to protect and be with Marin all the time, yet she has no ill-feelings towards him and vice-versa.

Subverted in the manga as Moe asks Melan "assertively" to leave Marin alone as she blames Melan for causing Marin trouble rather than help as a protector.

Funbag Airbag: Marin falls face-first into Jun's chest in Episode 1 and again in Episode 9.

Go for the Eye: Lots of the enemy Monomakia have only one eye, which are pretty much always their one weak spot. This is most obvious in Episode 8. Taratta was immune to all of Melan's attacks until he finally managed to shoot its eye.

Going Commando: Marin has to go without underwear from episode 14 until episode 18, though this is only treated as fanservice in episode 15.

And on Submaton Color, Marin attempts to communicate with some sentient snowmen in English.

Gratuitous Greek: In the official logo, Melan's name is spelled in Greek letters. In fact, the word 'melan' is Greek for 'dark/black'.

Many other Monomakia have names derived from Greek, too. such as the three Bronte type Monomakias in Episode 2. 'Bronte' means 'thunder', their names Proton, Deuteron, and Triton, are all derived from Greek words (first, second, and third), and they each have a letter from the Greek alphabet on their armor.

Greeneyed Monster: In the manga, one of the first signs that Melan is falling in love is the unhappiness or suspicion displayed when he finds Aloma and Marin alone together in a half-dressed state.

Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Applies to the fighting styles of Pyon and Erin. They are skilled with the same kind of weapons, but they both show a preference for one over the other (Pyon for his sword, Erin for her gun). The size difference of their respective swords and guns makes this even more obvious.

Healing Factor: Melan has rapid body regeneration, allowing him to get beat the hell up every episode but most of the time he'll be fine in the next. The other Gun-Swordsmen also have this ability.

Marin gets a limited form of rapid healing once she acquires Cosmos.

And then there's Kuston, whose biology is illegally altered so that he heals almost instantly any time he gets hurt.

Herald: Lolo plays this role for Marin in episode 1 by leading her to where Melan's ampoule was located.

Hermit Guru: Chroma is a hermit that lives on the highest peak in Submaton Color. He's the only inhabitant who is of any help to Marin and Melan while they are there, aiding them in their efforts to contact Brigadoon and return to Earth, and giving Marin Cosmos Yariya, a legendary Monomakia that is extremely useful later. He also was a part of Wawa's plan to save Brigadoon on the Day of Pasca by keeping Reikons hidden in Submaton Color until the time was right to use them.

Heroic BSoD: When Marin returns from Submaton Color her house is burned down, the loving family she had is nowhere to be seen, there is no food available to her, and her classmates still hate her... she loses it and attempts to steal some bread to fend off starvation.

Later on, Melan has a rather violent BSOD of his own when Marin is stabbed in the back by a Monomakia she had just saved him from (named Death, no less). Totally enraged, Melan screams and bashes the thing with his sword so hard that it smashes a concrete pillar into rubble. He freaks out even more when it looks like Marin might die from her wound.

Heroic Sacrifice: Towards the end of the series, Lulu seems to do this for Lolo and Lala, and Poikun does it for Marin.

Humans Are the Real Monsters: Take your pick. From the detective who repeatedly slams Marin's head against a table to her classmates who berate her repeatedly for being an orphan, and one who even tried to murder her while she was blind because of something she had no control over. There is no shortage of examples for this trope.

Humans Are Flawed: The show's overall philosophy on human nature seems to be this. While a lot of people treat Marin horribly they're never presented as pure evil and even the worst of them have believable motives. On the other side of the coin, Marin's friends and family are all good people and obviously care about her, but their human limitations often make them unable to help her when she needs it the most.

I Believe I Can Fly: Flight seems to be one of the most common powers of Monomakia, whether they have wings or not.

Identical Grandson: In a sense. In the anime Marin is the prototype of the Creis, and so they have very similar DNA. In the manga it's the other way around. Creis Maureen more or less "cloned" herself to create Marin, thus switching their roles.

In Name Only: The anime bears extremely superficial resemblance to the Gene Kelly film or the Broadway musical it was based on, taking just the name and concept of Brigadoon (a mysterious world that appears every 100 years) and adding alien cat creatures, mechanical warriors, political intrigue, and an apocalyptic storyline. And unlike the show/film's ending, whether or not the star-crossed lovers (in this case Marin and Melan) ultimately live together is left rather ambiguous.

Infinity +1 Sword: Cosmos. Not content with just letting her transform into anything that is around her, Cosmos rapidly heals Marin's wounds, can transmit her life force into another Monomakia to make them super powerful, and happens to cure her blindness as well.

Just in Time: Used so many times it might kill the trope until Marin transforms and saves it at the last second

Karma Houdini: After making the lives the heroes miserable, committing an endless list of crimes against Brigadoon and Earth, and betraying his own friends, Lulu gets away without so much as a slap on the wrist.

Sort of justified he escapes by going back in time and becoming Aloma...someone who had a big role in the hero's victory

Kiss of Life: Occurs in the manga. Marin saves Melan from drowning this way. Shortly after he wakes up, she realizes that their lips touched. She gets flustered, but he's as clueless as always.

Kissing Under the Influence: This is what two out the three kisses Marin and Melan share are made of. The first time he kissed her after she consumed hallucinogenic chocolates that he ate as well to neutralize the toxin. The second time she kissed him after he was brainwashed and in pain due to his memories rushing back. Their first normal kiss would be at the end of the last episode.

The Lady's Favour: When Melan goes to duel Pyon in Episode 7, Marin puts her hairtie on his sword to make him promise to come back. Episode 16 repeats this sort of scenario and is aptly titled "The Golden Promise." See also Memento MacGuffin and Red String of Fate.

Leitmotif: Marin has a very upbeat theme tune that plays most often in the early episodes. Melan's theme plays almost every time he comes out of his ampoule and in his battles. The same applies to Poikun, Kushatohn, and Lolo whenever he shows up.

Cosmos has its own theme, too, which sounds pretty similar to Marin's.

The judgement Monomakia Skiar also has his own theme even though he was only in two episodes, but it is later used for Kuston.

Let's Get Dangerous!: Although they're just ordinary humans, Marin's adoptive family successfully manages to come to her and Melan's rescue on more than one occassion.

Limited Wardrobe: Justified for Marin because she can't afford new clothes and most of the clothes she already has are Jun's hand-me-downs. The same logic applies to everyone else who lives in the tenement house.

Moe, on the other hand, is the financial opposite, yet she wears the same outfits all the time.

Love Before First Sight: Played with in the manga when Marin imagines the legendary Blue Swordsman. She pictures him to look like Aloma, whom she doesn't meet later in the chapter. Of course, Melan turns out to be the real Blue Swordsman.

Love Confession: Near the end of the series, Marin witnesses one of these when Mike confesses his feelings to Jun rather awkwardly.

And in a flashback, Gen did this for Moto by giving her a teddybear with a note tied around its neck.

The very last lines of the whole series are basically this between Marin and Melan.

Mundane Utility: Marin invokes this trope in Episode 5 when she wants Melan to use his sword to split a popsicle in half. In later episodes he uses his weapons for simple tasks like cutting firewood, lighting a bonfire, and slicing vegetables for soup.

Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: Melan pulls this in Episode 3 by attacking Marin's classmates and unwittingly making her already difficult life even worse. Although to be fair, he never would have done any of that if Marin hadn't let him out of his ampoule in the first place. Episode 13 is definitely the biggest one, when the heroes' valiant attempt to save their worlds just screws everything up.

No Name Given: The girl who bullies Marin the most, Moe's mom, the two detectives, and Kaori's mother are all characters who play major roles but remain nameless throughout the series.

The credits list the bully girl as A-ko (Girl A), and the two detectives as Wakai and Chunen (Young and Middle-Aged). That's the closest they get to having actual names.

Non-Human Sidekick: Seems to be played straight at first with Melan but then is inverted since Marin is more of the sidekick later on. It still counts for her two other Monomakia allies, Poikun and Kushatohn.

Portal Pool: Earth, Brigadoon and Submaton Color all have at least one of these.

Posthumous Character: Marin's Grandpa Gen Asagi, who we only learn about through flashbacks and narration. Much later and much more important to the plot, there's Wawa, Lolo's friend who first got wind of the Big Bad's plot but didn't survive long enough to stop him, and gave the task of hiding Marine's ampoule to Lolo as his last request.

Power Copying: This is a good description of what Cosmos does for its user.

The Power of Love: In Episode 26. When Marin dies, Melan is given five seconds to mourn before Cosmos activates its power and gives Marin's last remaining lifeforce to Melan to restore his body and give him new powers to fight Kuston.

Power of Trust: This power runs strong between Marin and Melan. Seems to be in short supply on Brigadoon, especially with Pyon and Erin. It gets so bad that Marin finally has to call them out on it.

Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Subverted with Melan in Episode 10 in the English dub. Before he shoots today's enemy, he says "Let us begin" in a tough guy way. Unfortunately, the next second the monomakia he fights sucks him into its mouth and swallows him whole.

The Promise: Part of Marin and Melan's bond is due to their trust in each other's promises, whether it be for him to come back alive when facing Pyon in a duel, or when he promises to find her again after finding the Creis Marine and saving their worlds.

In the manga, Marin promises Melan she won't cry anymore after Moto dies. He reminds her about the promise when she starts crying over him going to duel Pyon. When the time comes for them to say goodbye, she ends up breaking this promise after HE starts to cry.

Protectorate: Marin is this for Melan even after it is revealed she is not Creis Marine

Purple Eyes: Jun has these. Moe's are a bit more on the pink side, but close enough.

Put on a Bus: Jun disappears for many episodes after running off with her lover, but comes back later and stays for the remainder of the series. Poikun and Kushatohn aren't so lucky, as they get left behind on Brigadoon and don't appear again until the show is just three episodes away from over.

Red Herring: Lele does this in the anime. He was mistaken for the Big Bad but was really being manipulated like everyone else. In the manga this is the same, but he was more willing to play a part in Lulu's scheme.

In Episode 25, Kuston chases Melan and the Creis Marine to kill them. he catches them only to find that instead of having the Creis Marine in his grasp it's actually Marin! Lame....

Right Hand vs. Left Hand: The main reason Melan's former comrades want him dead is because he has a secret mission he can't tell them about and they refuse to trust him when he says he's not a traitor.

Rousing Speech: The Gun-Swordsmen give one of these near the end of the series right before going into what seems to be the Final Battle, but then the Big Bad throws a BFG in their face and kills them soon after said speech.

Royal Brat: Creis Marine has been treated like a princess her whole life and even dresses the part. Selfish enough to try running away from her duties when things go wrong, but Marin and Melan talk her out of it.

Rules of Orphan Economics: Type 3 for Marin. She has to earn her own money by delivering newspapers. And then when she finds herself jobless and homeless, she becomes so desperate that she tries to steal food. Fortunately Midori stops her and takes her in.

Save Both Worlds: Brigadoon and Earth will destroy each other if the Pasca ritual doesn't happen.

The Scapegoat: Marin is blamed for the problems caused by Monomakia simply because she is their main target. Melan is accused of things he didn't do as well, though in his case he's more of a Silent Scapegoat.

Scare the Dog: The Kisaragi family dog tries to scare Marin away from Moe's house, but as soon as Melan shows up it can't run away fast enough.

Shout-Out: In the manga, Aloma casually mentions the musical the series gets its name from. He also talks about Tim Burton's movie Edward Scissorhands as a subtle comparison to Marin and Melan's relationship.

The three Gun-Swordsmen are loosely based on The Three Musketeers. In fact, the Japanese term used to refer to the former (三銃剣士, san juukenshi) is almost identical to the Japanese term for the latter (三銃士, san juushi). They even strike the iconic group pose with their swords! [1]◊[2]◊

Marin's neighborhood is based on the real location where director Yoshitomo Yonetani once lived.

When Marin uses Cosmos for the first time, one of her transformations makes her look like Mickey Mouse. All that's missing is the shorts. [3]◊

After Creis Marine is released from her ampoule, she strikes a pose similar to the ones Sailor Moon uses at the end of her transformation sequences. [4]◊

Speaking of Sailor Moon, Erin's mechancial pink pigtails make her look a lot like Chibi-Usa, who was also voiced by Kae Araki.

Stalking Is Love: Parodied in Episode 22 when Marin is on the floor talking to her Moto's teddy bear only to look up and find Melan has been watching her the whole time. She becomes more flustered when telling him she's feels embarrassed he saw that only for him to tell her, "I think you are perfect just the way you are." Squee~

Strange-Syntax Speaker: Due to Chroma looking similar to Yoda, the English dub took note of that and portrayed Chroma as such.

Sugar Bowl: Submaton Color is this kind of place, and Brigadoon has elements of it as well (it has an ocean made of marshmallow creme for some reason).

Episode 26 has an especially tragic example. After Melan defeats Kuston and is dying, he talks to the now-dead Marin in his arms, thanking her for giving him the chance to fight and promising that they will be be together forever.

Team Chef: The Momoi triplets seem to do all of the cooking in Marin's household, though Moto's no slouch in the kitchen.

Tearjerker: Several moments qualify for this, but the most powerful is when Marin, after getting shot by a possessed Melan, unapologetically grabs the arm sword he is pointing at her, blood dripping from both of her hands. Melan then plunges the sword through her shoulder and lifts her up, Marin is still holding onto the sword as she is skewered. An ominous chorus plays throughout this scene, and we see a flashback of all the time Marin and Melan have spent together right before Melan delivers what he intends to be the final blow with his laser gun. Keep in mind that Marin is completely blind throughout all of this... it's hard enough to describe this scene without crying, let alone watch it.

Not to mention the fact that the way the episode ends leads you to believe he didn't miss.

Technical Pacifist: Melan becomes this thanks to Marin's influence. Pyon and Erin, however, have no problem killing any humans who get in their way and never show remorse for it.

Thanks for the Mammary: While flying with Marin for the first time in Episode 1, Melan accidentally happens to touch her miniscule chest. She flips out, of course.

That Came Out Wrong: Moe has several lines like this, though her first conversation with Aloma is the most hilarious.

Marin tries to explain this to Melan when he repeatedly insists in front of a stranger that her kisses are amazing.

Theme Tune Cameo: Both the opening and closing songs are played at various times for dramatic effect in certain episodes, and in Episode 8 Marin and Moe actually sing part of the closing song.

They Call Me Mister Tibbs: Melan always refers to Lolo by his official title and never by name. The English manga shortens this to "Director Lolo", probably because "Chairman of the Life Improvement Committee" is just too long to squeeze into each panel.

Thou Shalt Not Kill: Marin forbids Melan to kill humans and sometimes even tries to stop him from killing enemy Monomakia.

True Companions: Marin's adoptive family is composed of many people who all live together but aren't blood related, yet they see themselves as a real family and even adopt Melan into their group. They will also rush to Marin's (or Melan's) rescue at a moment's notice, and sometimes it actually works!

Vague Age: Monomakia seem to age much more slowly than humans, so it's hard to tell exactly how old they are. For instance, Melan is at least 100 Earth years old, yet Word of God states he is mentally 17 years old. Likewise, Creis Marine doesn't look her age, either.

What Happened to the Mouse?: The Engrish-speaking miko of the shrine where Melan's ampoule was kept pretty much disappears after the first episode ends. You would think she'd at least have something to say about the mess he made.

What the Hell, Hero?: Marin angrily scolds Melan when he attacks her classmates for picking on her. Later in the show, Melan calls Marin out (much more kindly) when she almost gives up on saving the world. The final scolding is directed towards the Creis Marine when she wants to escape to Submaton Color just when Brigadoon needs her the most.

When Marin and Melan leave Earth on their first trip to Brigadoon it is late summer. They spend maybe a few hours there, and then a few days on Submaton Color. When they get back to Earth it's winter.

You Are Not Alone: Happens frequently between Marin and Melan, sometimes using those exact words.

Your Cheating Heart: Jun has an affair with a married man and even runs off with him, but later she leaves him and comes back home. This is before Mike confesses his feelings for her, so he is heartbroken until they meet again and he gets the chance to tell her.

Your Universe or Mine?: This choice crops up in the anime, but frustratingly, the ending doesn't resolve the question. In the manga, Marin and Melan opt to go their separate ways.

Zero-Approval Gambit: Lolo set this sort of plan in motion when he originally sent Melan to Earth with Creis Marine's ampoule. He swore Melan to secrecy and didn't tell anyone else so the as-yet unidentified Big Bad would remain in the dark. Then he started acting like a selfish doofus to keep his friends from being hurt.

Zettai Ryouiki: Marin's standard outfit in the second half of the series includes a miniskirt and stockings that go past her knees. It's not long before we see Moe wearing a similar ensemble. Erin has a thigh-high boot variation.

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